Mari Yaguchi

, known professionally by her birth name of (born January 20, 1983) is a Japanese pop artist and former member of Hello! Project. She is a former member of Morning Musume and Tanpopo, one of its first sub groups, and also founded Minimoni. She later became the leader of both Morning Musume Sakuragumi and ZYX.She is currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.

Biography

Mari Yaguchi became a member of Morning Musume during the second generation auditions in 1998, but resigned suddenly in April 2005. She said her reason was a desire to move on "as an adult" with her career. The underlying reason she had to quit was that the tabloid magazine Friday discovered she was in a relationship with actor Shun Oguri, though she was 22 at the time. Yaguchi's TV show continued as before, and she began to focus on Japanese variety shows rather than on a singing career. Yaguchi and Oguri reportedly broke up in April 2006.

In her early years in the group, Yaguchi was often perceived as being "the short one" as she did not stand out a lot. However, by the time 4th generation had joined, she had become one of the most active members of the group. Her famous catchphrase is "Sexy Beam!", one of her solo lines from Morning Musume's "Koi no Dance Site" single, and she was asked jokingly in "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari", "When will your real sexy beam come out?" The "Sexy Beam!" line has made its way around fans and fellow...
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